Crime, Conspiracy, Cults and Murder - Ep. 41 | DISTURBING Cults You've Never Heard Of

Episode Date: March 26, 2025

I don't think you're ready for today's episode... unbuckle your seatbelts, go Mach 5 down the highway, slam on your brakes, and bust through the windshield into these 3, very disturbing CULTS together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What motivates people to give up their lives, their wealth, and even their identities to a charismatic leader? How do ordinary, everyday individuals become trapped in manipulative, often dangerous belief systems? And when the illusion of a perfect world begins to break? What then? Throughout history, cults have risen and fallen, leaving behind dark stories of control, deception, and tragedy. But some of the most disturbing cases remain largely unknown to the public. So we're going to dive deep into the rise and collapse of three such cults. Each led by figures who promised enlightenment but delivered something far, far more sinister.

Crime, conspiracy, cults, serial killers, and murder, all things that I love to consume, and I know you do too, you sick, twisted, lovely, beautiful, intellectually-minded freak. So today we are talking about just that cults, three of them, three of which I don't think you've heard of. And if you have, well, I don't know, don't listen. Yeah, you should listen anyway. But without further ado, let's unbuckle our seatbelts go Mach 5 down the highway, slam on the brakes, and bust through this windshield into these three disturbing cults together. The first cult we're going to be talking about today is Angels Landing. Sounds nice, right? It's fucking not. It's not. It's the furthest thing from Nice.

It should be called the devil's landing. It's probably my worst joke. The jokes will get up, get up from here. Go up from here for sure. And the first joke I will mention is the man named Daniel Perez, the cult leader, if you will. And he was born in Oranzas Pass, Texas in 1959. And he was somewhat of an enigmatic figure with early info on his life largely undisclosed. It was difficult to find information on what he was like as a little kiddo and, you know, and like,

what he was like as a young adult, what job he had? Did he work at McDonald's? I don't fucking know. The guy is a bit of a, he's a bit of a mystery, but I don't really care because he's a giant piece of shit. But into his adulthood, he did work in Texas prisons, aviation, and maintained airplanes in the Navy. And in 1996 to 1997, he was also accused of sensual crimes against two young girls. Yeah, it gets bad right out the gate with this guy. This guy is like mega POS. And these girls were only 11 and 14. But these specific cases would be dismissed.

Why? You ask? Because he was reported dead, but he actually wasn't. In reality, he just changed his name to Lou Castro and moved out of state. You can't do that shit now. You can't do that shit. That's crazy. I wonder how many people did that.

Just to like wipe their slate completely clean. It's just sick. But this is when he would start to build somewhat of a follow. Not necessarily a cult at this point, but a bit of a following, a commune, if you will. So he allegedly traveled with members of his commune for several years across multiple states before finally settling into their home of Angels Landing, Devil's Landing. And the states they would move to was Texas, the Dakotas, Missouri, Kansas, and eventually Tennessee, but that was after Angels Landing.

So Perez or Lou Castro at this time claim to be a, seer with the ability to see the future, you know, like that's so, Raven. And you know, that seems pretty standard as a cult leader. They all claim that the doomsday is coming. They know the future because their profit, blah blah blah, bullshit, bullshit. But he would also claim that he would need young girls to sustain his life and wanted regular access to his followers. His followers being a lot of young girls. And by access, you can draw that conclusion. just fucking sick. He's just a giant sicko. And there are some just heartbreaking quotes from some of the girls that endured this fucking asshole after the fact, like after he got caught. And they were,

they were quoted saying, while other 10 year old girls were riding bikes or playing with dolls, I was laying naked in bed with a pillow over my head, just waiting for it to be over. And she would go on to say, while other 13 year old girls were getting boyfriends and holding hands, I was holding on to my secret and losing the people I loved one by one. When other 16-year-olds were experiencing their freedom of learning how to drive and planning parties with their friends, I was planning my own death every day when I drove to school. Just heartbreaking, heartbreaking stuff. Like, this guy is just a waste of oxygen. And on top of being able to see the future, or claiming to be able to see the future and taking advantage of young girls, he also claimed to be a thousand,

year old angel himself what i do you just to tell us that he was a thousand years old and that he was an angel himself lu castro had all of his followers believing that he was centuries old and that his body was inhabited by angels what who like listen i know everybody that not everybody but a lot of people that join cults are are usually very lost they have nowhere to go there they don't have a sense of self a sense of worth but if you If a fucking, you know, little prick came up to me saying he could see the future, takes advantage of like young girls and says he's a thousand-year-old angel, I would punch him in the throat. So for future reference, do that, do that if some guy comes up to you and says all this stuff. But it's like crazy.

Just another prophet. He is a prophet of some sort. He is the middleman from whoever's up there to whoever's on earth. And on top of all that, he said he could make it rain and not money, which he could do money too. We'll get into that. But literally make it rain. He could heal people. And he could use his future seeing powers to tell you you were going to die.

But because of him, you would come back after death. So basically he was like, oh yeah, yeah, you guys are going to die like on Tuesday at 3 o'clock by getting hit by a bus. But don't worry, 16 years after death. After that, I'll bring you back. It's gonna be some crazy zombie apocalyptic shit. It's crazy. Don't worry, I'm a thousand-year-old angel. Okay, I can see the future.

All right. But he basically made death feel like a very normal thing, regularly telling his followers that the goal in life was to be on the other side, and the other side being the afterlife. Lou talked about death frequently and how going to the other side was the ultimate goal. And this commune was made up of a small group of people

with very diverse backgrounds. all vulnerable in some way that Perez or Lou Castro would take care of. He also made sure that all of the members of Angels Landing had their needs met. Members of the Angels Landing cult had been living really well. But there was always a price to pay for that stuff. He would actually make sure that everyone on the compound's needs were met and not just met because they would live very extravagantly. And this is like not like a lot of other cults.

I mean, usually you find that the cult leader is the only one living extravagantly, but he made sure that everybody was kind of even keel, like everybody had stuff. But there's a reason for that, and it's really fucked up. So the compound itself was located at North Oliver near the town of Catchy, Kansas. What a fun name. And they would have two fairly large houses and a swimming pool. And all of the members, like I said, and all the members had pretty expensive vehicles. and Perez himself reportedly drove a lot of corvettes.

Very discreet cult leader. And Perez would make use of his different personas of angels inhabiting his body to control his followers. Those angels being Daniel, Arthur, and Amber. And he would open life insurance policies for commune members and set up other commune members as the beneficiaries of those policies. See where the money's coming from, you'll see. it gets bad.

So we would basically direct how the policies were to be written. He had a very specific way of writing these policies. And then he would convince his followers that those who died would come back, as we know, zombie apocalypse shit, manipulating them to carry out his fraud, basically, because he's, you know, putting other people's names on the policies, like people that aren't related to these people or himself, his name on these policies, just to be able to get the money. after these people died.

But Chris, how would he get the money? He'd have to wait for people to die. He'd have to wait like, you know, 50, 60, 70 years. No. Now when money got tight in the commune, one of his followers would just mysteriously die. When the rent had to be paid, he would just off somebody, which is so insane.

And then obviously, when that person died, a very large life insurance check would benefit the commune, amounting to millions of dollars. So on top of his insurance death scheme, he was obviously exploiting these young girls as well. Like he's just bad at every angle, just scum of the earth at every angle. And he would tell the girls in order to keep them quiet,

by him doing what he was doing, it would fix them because he is who he is. He's a thousand-year-old angel. He has all these powers. So he said all this stuff to basically just, keep them quiet. So in 2001, Mona Griffith, a member of the commune would die in a plane crash in South Dakota with her boyfriend and 12-year-old daughter. This one wasn't actually procured by Perez. Obviously, didn't make a plane crash. It was just a really fucked up coincidence. So Perez, or Lou

Castro, it was the one listed as a brother at the obituary and on the life insurance policy, which was $700,000. And he would get that $700,000 over her other child, who he had one child that died in the plane crash, but she had another child that didn't die in the plane crash. So he would just take all of that money and not give any to the kid. And then on June 2003, Patricia Hughes, a member of the commune as well, would die from what was believed to be an accidental drowning in the commune pool.

So a funeral would take place in South Texas, And it's been reported that Perez told commune members that attended the funeral not to tell anyone in Texas that he was in Kansas because he doesn't exist, remember? He's dead. Odd paper, anyway. And then in March 2006, Brian Hughes, Patricia's husband, and also a member of the commune would die in South Dakota while working underneath a vehicle. Brian was a diesel mechanic. I remember Lou telling Brian, you will someday get your chance to go to the. the other side. Brian was so safety conscious that they somehow that Jack slipped.

Very spaspicious. And then in 2008, Jennifer Hudson, not that Jennifer Hudson, different Jennifer Hudson, a real estate agent and a member of the commune would die when her vehicle crossed into oncoming traffic and would hit a truck head on. Again, very spaspicious. And Sarah McGarth, her daughter, and also former member of the commune, would open up about her mom's death in 2008. And she would have crowned that her mom went to work that day, and she tried calling her, but her mom never answered. Lou comes downstairs and he says, Jennifer's been in an accident. I said she's dead, didn't she? But Perez wouldn't really give her a straight answer, and that made the daughter really, really mad.

They wouldn't answer me. And that really pissed me off. So I go running behind him, and I say, what did you do to my mom? I mean, the people in the commune, you know, they're not stupid. They know that, you know, these events that are happening might be caused by Perez because they're going to come back later. It doesn't matter if they die and we collect money because they're going to come back, remember? Remember?

But this started to lose its luster after so many people were dying. Because Trish and Brian had died, they were other people in the commune. And they hadn't come back yet. So the daughter obviously believed that her mother wasn't going to come back, at least anytime soon, either. So investigators would start to catch on to this scheme. A lot of life insurance policies were being paid out to like one specific person or these specific people in this commune and people were dying left and right. And who was this guy?

Who was Lou Castro? They didn't know. So Sedgwick County Sheriff's Detective Ron Goodwin, along with other investigators, compiled 500,000 pages worth of documentation of what Perez was up to, which spanned over 20 years and multiple. states as we know. And Goodwin devoted nine years to figure out who Perez was and where the hell he got all his money because Perez was living like a fucking king and he had no job. He had no job this entire time, but he's driving around a bunch of corvettes. He has houses. He has a pull. He has all

these things so it just didn't add up. So he became suspicious of Perez at this point still known as Luc Castro. In April 2003, when he knows, he knows. noticed Perez's group had multiple $40,000 to $50,000 vehicles. Very spouspicious. And their compound had the two houses and a very nice swimming pool as well. So all of this unexplained wealth was starting to look pretty nefarious.

A lot of nefarious activities look like they were happening. So Goodwin was on the case. So if you remember June 2003, a member of the group Patricia Hughes would die in the commune swimming pool. Accidentally. For those of you listening, I'm making very obvious, you know, quotes, winking, accidentally. And this was one of the cases that drew the attention of Goodwin to look further and discover that Castro may not be who he says he is. And Castro had no apparent records and was not easily identifiable. And he had basically no identifiable past either. Because the guy

didn't fucking exist. So he would do a little song and dance and claim that he came from oil wealth, and he was an inventor or that he was a cattle seller, just spewing bullshit to investigators, and none of which could be verified, so it didn't hold up very long. But all of the members in the commune were identifiable through databases, but Lou Castro was not, so that was looking suspicious, suspicious, even more.

But Goodwin did find that Castro had a South Dakota ID card, and this would lead to the discovery of Mona Griffith's death in 2001. On top of her boyfriend, and her daughters where Castro was listed as the brother of Grithis. So he was just raking in the dough after all three of these people died. So in 2004, Goodwin would enlist the help of FBI agent John Sullivan to help identify Castro. And they had worked together before on other drug cases, and Sullivan was unable to find a photo or description matching Lou Castro.

So not even the FBI could find out who this guy was. And Goodwin would do everything he could to get fingerprints. He would follow Castro around and gather trash from the compound. He even got permission from a manager to collect glasses and silverware. This is some like movie shit. But no fingerprint to identify Castro was ever found. So the case would slowly become cold. So Goodwin would drive to Angels Landing over the next couple years every once in a while.

Because he would just wake up every night just wondering who the hell Castro really was. And what the hell was he up to? And in 2006, Goodwin would learn about another death. And this one was Brian Hughes, Patricia Hughes husband, who was crushed under that car in South Dakota. And he heard about it due to a custody case involving the Hughes' daughter. And at this point, there were five deaths from three fatal accidents in just five years, all associated with the same commune. So in late 2006 and early 2007, Goodwin requested for the U.S. attorney's office to open a case to review the commune's finances. we're getting somewhere. And around the same time, Goodwin was assigned to a task force to go after

the Crips, a street gang located in Wichita. Wichita, Crips, Wichita. Those are two fun words to say. And it's here that he began working with Clint Snyder, cool-ass name, and would tell him all about Castro. And Snyder became very interested, but they were too busy with the Crips at this point. And then in 2008, as we know Jennifer Hudson, no not that one, would die in an apparent apparent traffic accident, bringing the total calming deaths to six. And in response, strategies to trick Castro to giving prints were thrown around. Goodwin went with another detective to Angels Landing under the guise of looking into the area for home break-ins. So they gave Castro glossy images of suspects, quote-unquote suspects, asking if

he knew any of them. And Castro would only touch the images with the palms of his hands, bastard. And would move them on a table, using his finger nails. The guy, he was a shifty fucker. And Castro would give his name, but claimed that he didn't have an idea around, so he couldn't give one to them. And he also provided a false social security number

on top of that. So in late 2009, the Cripps case cools off a bit now. And Goodwin and Snyder are assigned to the US Attorney's Office with the focus on the financial investigation. And Goodwin would receive a call from Sullivan, the FBI agent from before, asking if there's a fax machine nearby because he wanted to send over an email from the boyfriend of a young woman who had been part of the commune. And he was very suspicious of Castro. And at this point,

Castro had moved to Columbia, Tennessee in early 2010. So after the FBI received this email, the agents started to watch Castro's house. And he was currently living with five people at that point. And Castro at this point had also changed his name again to Joe VIII. Vanegas upon moving to Tennessee. And he would be caught on camera showing his new ID to open a bank account. And that is when he would be charged with aggravated identity theft and fraudulent use of a social security number. We got him. Whoop, we got him.

And on April 21st, 2010, Goodwin Snyder and Sullivan would go to Tennessee with a search warrant of Castro's home. So he was arrested and got fingerprinted, finally. But no match would be found in the federal database. And other investigators were interviewing witnesses through all of this time. But the members of the community weren't really giving up much info. They were all pretty loyal to Castro at this point. So Goodwin and Snyder just talked to basically anyone who would talk to them about this commune and everything that was going on. And they would interview about 85 people.

And Castro, during this whole thing, would just stay completely silent, given them the complete silent treatment. But he would plead guilty to one of the two charges brought against him in the federal case. And he would just go to federal prison as John Doe, because they still didn't know who this guy was. So during his sentence, Goodwin and Snyder worked to build the best case they had against him. And they discovered from Patricia Hughes' mother in Beaville, Texas, that Patricia had dated a man named Daniel Perez. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. But had since heard that he was dead. So they followed that thread to find an old booking mug and fingerprints that matched Castro's.

And boom, they found. So they picked up copies of the police reports on Perez from Beaville, including that dismissed case from 1996 to 1997 mentioned in the beginning with the girls who were 11 and 14. And the case, as we know, was dismissed because Perez was presumed dead. And as Perez was away in prison, his commune began to open up more and more. They began to be sick and tired of Perez's bullshit. And one young woman would recount an incident in which Perez made her break a computer hard drive with a hammer and tosses. into the lagoon in Angel's Landing. And the hard drive would actually be recovered after Cedric County firefighters drained the entire body of water to find it. And eventually, one of his followers

became the big break. She revealed that Perez was described as someone capable of seeing the future and needed a young girl to live. And she would describe all of his sex crimes that he did throughout all of the years. And she would also reveal that Perez had forced her to give a false story about Patricia Hughes when authorities arrived. Patricia Hughes being the one that accidentally drowned in the Kamion pool. And this girl was supposed to say that Hughes slipped and fell and drowned in the pool. But what she actually experienced was screams and splashes leading to Perez seemingly out of breath and completely wet.

He had drowned her. And with the testimony, they finally had enough for a murder case. Thank God. And in January 2012, Sedgwick County prosecutors filed murder. and dozens of other charges against Perez while he was still in prison. And on February 2015, Daniel Perez was convicted of 28 charges by the jury. One count of first-degree murder, eight counts of grape, seven counts of aggravated criminal sodomy,

three counts of aggravated assault, one count of sexual exploitation of a child, eight counts making false information, and he received two life sentences, plus four hundred and six months, on lesser charges with no possibility for parole for at least 80 years. So the guys gonna fucking die in a rotting jailhole. Thank the Lord. But my lord, like this guy, I mean, just, I can't.

I don't know how many times I say it, just scone of the earth. Like, I am so glad he got caught and these officers were just on him for as long as they were. And I hope all of the victims involved are living much better lives. But just incredibly sad, incredibly sad. But that brings us to our next cult, which is, love has won. So born on November 30th, 1975 in McPherson, Kansas, Amy Carlson was unfortunately born. Subject of HBO miniseries, Love has won the cult of Mother God.

Carlson's early life appeared pretty conventional. She was raised in a middle class family, excelled in school for the most part, and even participated in the school choir. parents would divorce during her childhood. And this would lead her and her sister Tara to split their time between their mother's home in Kansas and their father's home in Oklahoma City. And following allegations of abuse by their stepmother,

the sisters moved in permanently with their mother and stepfather. And the family would later relocate to Dallas, Texas when Carlson continued her education. And in the mid-2000s, Carlson became deeply involved in New Age philosophies and would frequently post on a forum called, lightworkers.org and I went on that side, it's just, it's gone now. So I guess we'll never know. But there, she connected with a user named Amarith White Eagle, the original Father God,

who convinced her of her own divinity. Oh no. Or should I say, oh, God. And as an adult, she would work as a manager at McDonald's, you know, as the divine mother of God does. And she would go on to have three children, each with different forms. And in late 2007, Carlson left her third husband, children, and job, severing ties with most of her family completely. Mother of the Year. And she would join White Eagle in Colorado. And together, they founded a group initially known as Galactic Federation of Light. The Galactic Federation of Light. I mean, that's a pretty cool name. It's a pretty cool name. I'll give them that. Some Star Wars shit. But this later would evolve into Love Has One. And Carlson would professed.

to be a 19 billion year old deity having lived 534 previous lives. She's got a couple up on Perez at this point, the thousand-year-old angel. She's like, I'll take your thousand-year angel and raise you a 19 billion-year old deity who's lived 534 lives, different lives. What do fuck? And these lives, if you were wondering, included the life of Jesus Christ, Joan of our and Marilyn Monroe, just like all the coolest people ever, basically. I wish she did like Elvis Presley too, but that would mess up her timelines.

That wouldn't be legit, you know? And she asserted that she could heal ailments such as cancer with the powers of love, the powers of love. So similar to Perez saying he can heal all this shit. It's just the same with all of them. At least be original. Like Jim Jones did the same shit. He said he could see him to the future.

He could cure cancer, yad, yada, yada. I would like them to be original at some point. Just kidding, I don't want to see any more cult leaders. I'll tell you what. And under Carlson's leadership, Love Has Won, combined elements of new age spirituality, conspiracy theories, and mainstream religions. The group conducted daily live streams to recruit members, solicit donations, and promote spiritual healing services.

I love spiritual live streams where you can donate bits to cult leaders. They're my favorite. But Love Has Won operated under unique spiritual framework, that combined various religions and mystical elements. Amy Carlson being the mother of God. She was basically seen as the only conduit for spiritual enlightenment and ascension. And the father of God was basically just a rolodex of male figures in her life. Throughout her leadership, Carlson took on multiple fathers of gods.

Male consorts, who she claimed were incarnations of divine masculinity. And these individuals often became key enforcers of her. control over her followers. So then there was the Galactic Federation and Ascension beliefs, which was that the cult believed that the world was in the process of a great transformation. And Carlson was the only entity capable of leading humanity into the fifth dimension. Fifth dimension. Okay. All right. Not quite as, you know, you know, there were space with Applewhite or whatever the hell his name was. And Scientology's got his own thing. But fifth dimension, I got to say, it is original. It's more original. But the followers were required to

relinquish their ego and fully submit to Carlson's teachings. And any deviation from her doctrine was seen as a resistance to spiritual growth. And the love has won integrated elements of various conspiracy theories, as I was saying. Including ideas of extraterrestrials, 5D consciousness, and global government corruption. Which like, she's got some points. She's got some points there. But most of it's ridiculous. And the cult used several methods to attract and retain

members because you're like, how does a woman just walk up to you on the street and say, I'm a 19 billion your old deity that's left 534 other lives, including of which is Jesus Christ. June of Arc and Marilyn Monroe, would you like to join my little call? People are just like, am I right? I just don't see that happening. So how did they do it? They did it with social media and daily live streams. This is not looking good for social media right now. Love has won, gained traction through frequent online broadcasts. And Carlson, and her followers discuss their beliefs, solicited donations, and recruited new members that way. And recruits were often those experiencing hardships, which we find with pretty much every cult I've ever

covered and just every cult in history, just vulnerable people, including those that have financial instability or health crises as well. And the cult just offered them a sense of community and purpose and healing. And many members were drawn to Carlson's promises of spiritual enlightenment and physical healing from diseases such as cancer through etheric surgeries. What? These are also sometimes called psychic surgeries. In other words, surgery that uses psychic or spiritual means to avoid physical contact. So there's like those people that like move their hands over people's bodies and then the people under it are like moving and shit and it's just all like a placebo kind of effect. That's

kind of what they're talking about. I grew up watching a thousand Thousands of people at revival conferences claimed to be healed of everything from arthritis to cancer. But again, living in this cult required complete devotion to the mother of God and a very strict adherence to her rules. And living in this cult was not that glamorous. Members would live in very cramped quarters and they often did not have adequate food or heating. And they shared a communal space in Colorado where they expected to serve Carlson without any question. So in their daily life, the followers would participate in online broadcasts to spread the group's message and solicit donations. And this would be their main source of income. And the members would have to refer to Carlson as mom and constantly praise her.

Bitch had a praise gink. Let's just be real. Believing that she was working to save humanity. And those who deviated and displayed ego or disobeyed orders were humiliated on live streams or subjected to verbal and physical abuse. My vision was chicken parmesan. So the fucking Adams turn around on me and get me meatballs. I didn't say meatballs. And to maintain power over her followers,

Carlson implemented a series of manipulative and extreme control tactics. She would force fasting, having members often deprived of any food, as a means of spiritual cleansing and control, basically. And Carlson herself reportedly went without eating for extended periods of time, encouraging others to do the same, which like, I don't believe her. She's sneaking pop tarts like late at night, I know it. And she would also sleep deprive them, similar to Jim Jones, be original Carlson. But the followers were kept in a state of exhaustion, limiting their ability to think critically

or question the group's practices, because sleep deprivation, I mean, it's a torture tactic. Like, if you're sleep deprived, you kind of, you're a zombie at that point. You are a brainwashed zombie or have the potential to be. And then just full on isolation from the outside. Again, just be original. Just same shit. Any communication with outsiders was completely discouraged, reinforcing dependency on the cult. Everything's about separating and then brainwashing and just having full control. And then, of course, we had threats of punishment. One man was reportedly found after group members discussed how his energy wasn't right during a live stream and that he was

on the wrong side of the mountain. So they would basically stick him out in the wheel. alone, naked and dehydrated with cactus needles in his feet and be forced to look up into the sun until his eyes were burnt. Oh my God. What? And naturally, as many cults do, members were required to surrender their financial assets to the group because it's communal. Everybody is equal here. Everybody can put their money in and just never see it again. And don't worry, I'm not buying Pop-Tarts with them. I swear. So there was the financial manipulation, isolation from families, abusive practices, claims of divine healing, miraculous transformations, literal torture tactics is just hell on earth for these people, but they felt like this is where they needed to be. I love me, bubbles. But I didn't fucking say that! I get fucked up every fucking moment by you fucking motherfucking whores. And shove it up your fucking ass!

I'm gonna take another Tula shot? I'll fucking do that shit. And on top of all this, Carlson would claim that this wasn't a cult. This isn't a cult. This is just fun. We're just having a good time. I was Jesus Christ in a past life. Don't question me. It would even be featured on Dr. Phil.

They're very peaceful here at the moment. Things are often not peaceful around you because I've seen some of your streams. I've seen some of the things that videos where you seem to be upset a lot, yelling and screaming and calling names and all. What is it that upsets you the most? Well, you know, a lot of those are taken out of context. But time would go on and Carlson's health would decline. Womp-womp.

And her belief system impacted her physical condition. She obviously adhered to very unconventional health practices, including the ingestion of colloidal silver, which the group promoted as a cure-all remedy. It was even purchasable on their website, which is obviously no longer available. And in the months leading up to her death, Carlson appeared very weak. with thinning hair and discolored skin indicative of severe health decline. And prolonged consumption of colloidal silver can lead to agiria.

Or agiria, argyria. I'm sorry if I'm saying that wrong. A condition causing blue-gray discoloration of skin and may result in seizures and organ failure. Maybe you don't eat silver. Just a thought. I actually don't care. You're kind of a piece of shit. But the combination of heavy booze, lack of eating, intense fasting, and the colloidal silver wreaking havoc on her body, it was just a recipe for death. And that is what would happen.

She would die. And in April of 2021, Carlson's mummified body was discovered in the group's Colorado headquarters. And just a little trigger warning, this is very strange. Her body was found in a sleeping bag wrapped in Christmas lights with her face covered in glitter and her eyes. eyes missing, suggesting a makeshift shrine. I have no words, I have no words for that. And the seven members of the Love Has One were obviously arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse and also child abuse.

Because two children were present in the home where Carlson's body was found, which is horrifying to think about. And there were initial plans to upgrade the charges to tampering with a deceased human body, but all the charges would later be dropped. So what remains of Love Has Won? Well, following her two,

death, the group faced increased scrutiny, obviously, leading to its eventual soft ending, though splinter groups remain. And co-leader Jason Castillo, which was, you know, one of the fathers of God, formed a new group called Joy Raines. And other former members would rebrand their online presence to FD Full Disclosure, launching a new website to continue spreading their beliefs. And this website is crazy. I kind of want to sign up. Should that be a video? Should I sign up? Tell you guys what happens? I'm just kidding. I'm not going to do that. That's crazy. The brainwashing that happened in this and the aftermath, just brutal. But that brings us to our final cult, which is Rajneesh Param.

So Bhagwan Sri Rajneesh was born on December 11th, 1931, as Chandra Mohanjan in Cushwara. I'm sorry if I'm saying these wrong. I'm trying my best. It was a small village in Central India's Madhya Pradesh state. and was the full-on subject of a Netflix documentary, which I'm sure you've seen if you like watching me, which was Wild, Wild Country. He was the eldest of 11 children in the Jaina family. And a Jaina family is one that practices the teachings of Jainism,

which was an ancient Indian religion focused on non-violence and separation from attachment to worldly possessions. And he would spend most of his childhood with his maternal grandparents. And they allowed him considerable, freedom, fostering his independent and inquisitive nature. And his father, Babel-Laljean, was a cloth merchant. And he demonstrated a highly developed intellect and a rebellious spirit from a very young age. This is Bhagwan, I'm talking about the cult leader, the kid that's growing up.

So I, it's not the father I'm talking about, it's the kid. And he would regularly question established norms and beliefs. And in 1951, he began his studies in Hitt Karini College in Jabalpur. But he would be later asked to leave due with conflicts with his instructor. And he then transferred to D.N. Jane College, where he would complete his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy in 1955. And at the ripe old age of 21, he would experience what he called a spiritual awakening. And this had a major impact on his later teachings. And in 1957, he would earn his Master of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Cigar, graduating with

distinction. And after completing his postgraduate studies, he secured a teaching position at Rapier Sanskrit College. However, his unconventional ideas led his vice-chancellor to request his transfer, deeming him a threat to the students morally and religiously. And he would later become a lecturer in philosophy at Jappell-Purr University in 1958 and was promoted to professor in 1960. So I guess they were chill with whatever the hell he was trying to do. And during his academic tenure, he traveled extensively across India, engaging in public speaking opportunities. And he was a very outspoken critic of socialism, Mahatma Gandhi's philosophies, and institutionalized religions, advocating for a more individual approach to spirituality. And in 1970, he introduced the practice of dynamic meditation

and initiated his first group of disciples known as Neosaniacens. Okay. And dynamic meditation was characterized by fast breathing and celebration with music and dance. So just me having a panic attack, basically, with like tunes bump and just... And this movement encouraged followers to embrace a celebratory lifestyle, pursuing physical pleasures. Oh, no. And in 1974, he established an ashram in Poon, India, which became a hub for spiritual seekers from around the world. And an ashram is a place dedicated to spiritual practices, often found in very remote areas. And the ashram offered various therapies and workshops lending Eastern spirituality with Western psychotherapy techniques.

And he was known in the West as the, uh, sex guru. Alright. And he would attract many Westerners through promises of enlightenment, freedom, and belonging. Again, be original. So he would denounce traditional religion and promote self-actualization by means of meditation, free love, and communal living. Because if everyone's on the same grade, much easier to control. But by the late 1970s, Rajneesh's teachings and rapid following attracted significant attention. This guy's got a lot of names. I'm just going to call him Rajneesh from here on out. And this created tension with Indian authorities and traditional religious groups. His progressive views on sexuality and criticism of established religions made him a very

controversial figure. So seeking a location to expand his commune with no interference, Rajneesh and his secretary, Manan Shila, identified the United States of America as a suitable destination. Land of the Free. A little too free. in this scenario. And the vast lands and promise of religious freedom presented an opportunity to establish a new community aligned with their vision. And facing increasing pressure from Indian authorities due to the controversial teachings, he relocated to the United States in 1981.

And the Rajneesh Foundation International purchased 64,229 acres in Big Muddy Ranch near Antelope, Oregon, with the intent to build a large, self-sustaining commune. And the commune would become known as Rajnees Param and was the center of various legal and social controversies. But more on that later. The commune transformed the ranch into a thriving city, basically. Constructed of essential infrastructure, including residential buildings, a public transport system, a sewage treatment plant, a reservoir, and even an air strip. I mean, in the cult communes, this one, this one's up there. I mean, by nice, I mean, terrible, but I mean, you.

You know, yeah, you know what I mean. But the goal was to create a self-sufficient community capable of supporting thousands of residents. And they would be incorporated as a city in May of 1982, home solely to followers of Rajneesh. Now, Sheila served as Rajneesh's personal secretary from 1981 to 1985. And she managed commune operations

and acted as the primary spokesperson of the movement. Her very assertive and often confrontational demeanor made her a prominent and prominent polarizing figure in the community. Sheila was basically an instrument in the commune's development. She oversaw all the land acquisition, infrastructure projects, and legal strategies. And her leadership style was marked by decisiveness as she maintained strict control over the commune's affairs. And a small town of Antelope, with a population fewer than 60 residents, became a focal point of conflict. The rapid influx of Rajneesh's followers led to cultural clashes and fears among local

about the commune's intentions. And an activist group, known as the Thousand Friends in Oregon, actively worked to prevent the growth and legitimacy of the commune. And the establishment of Rajneesh Param led to numerous legal battles over land use. We got a Yellowstone situation happening here. And incorporation legitimacy and alleged violations of state and federal laws. And these disputes would attract national attention. And residents of Rajneesh Param viewed the surrounding Oregon communities as bigots.

So in 1984, members of the commune under the direction of Sheila cultivated salmonella bacteria in their medical laboratory. And they then contaminated salad bars at 10 local restaurants in the Dallas by spreading bacteria over food items, which is so wrong and disgusting. And the deliberate contamination led to 751 reported cases of salmolosis, marking the largest bioterrorist, marking the largest bioterrorist, attack on U.S. soil, which is crazy. And they aimed to influence local elections in favor of Rajneesh's by suppressing voter turnout in Wasco County through incapacitation by food poisoning, which is so fucked up. But it ultimately had the opposite effect, as local residents were enraged by the suspected Rajneishi involvement. They showed up in even greater numbers, as they should. And to gain political control over Waysko County, Rajneesh Param leaders initiated the

share a home program. They would bring in thousands of homeless individuals from across the United States. And the intention was to register these individuals as voters in the county, thereby swaying election results in favor of Rajneeshi-backed candidates, which is like, the amount of planning is wild.

Wild country. I get it now. But local officials would recognize these tactics as an attempt of voter manipulation. And the Wayscoe County clerk enforced regulations requiring new voters to provide proof of residency and qualifications. So this effectively prevented the newly arrived homeless individuals from participating in the elections. And a federal judge upheld the measures which ruined the Rajneesh's plan to influence local governance through fraudulent means.

So the Rajneesh Param community engaged in widespread immigration fraud to facilitate the illegal entry and residency of foreign disciples. And this included setting up sham marriages between, US citizens and foreign nationals to circumvent immigration laws. And 1985, federal authorities indicted several commune members for their involvement in the fraudulent activities. Marking one of the largest recorded marriage fraud schemes in the United States. So not only were they one of the largest bioterrorist attack groups, they were also the largest

marriage fraud scheme in the United States. They're just hitting all the world records, or United States records at least, you know. Got to commend him on that. I'm just kidding. Don't do I do that. But at September 1985, Sheila abruptly left the commune with several close associates. And the sudden departure was unexpected

and raised suspicions among the remaining members. And following her exit, Rajneesh publicly accused her and her team of numerous criminal activities, including the attempted murder of his personal physician, the poisonings of public officials in Oregon, wiretapping and bugging within the commune in Rajneesh's own residence and of officials outside the commune. and the bioterror attack in the Dales,

which, so he's just, she's just putting it all. He's like, she's gone, she's gone. Okay, she did it all. It was her idea. It was her idea. She's not here to answer for it, so it's her idea. Crazy bitch.

So the FBI and the other federal agencies then launch extensive investigations into the activities of Rajneesh Param. And they would confirm the criminal acts previously alleged by Rajneesh, including the bioterror attack, assassination plots, embezzlement, and illegal surveillance operations.

And these actions were just part of a broader strategy to maintain control over the commune and suppress dissent. And key figures in the commune, including Sheila, were convicted on charges of immigration fraud, wiretapping, and conspiracy to tamper with consumer products. And Sheila's conviction for her role in the Samanilla bioterror attack led to her imprisonment and eventual collapse of Rajneesh Param. Though Rajneesh was very quick to point the finger, it would not prevent him from his own arrest.

On October 28, 1985, Rajneesh was arrested aboard a rented jet in North Carolina. Supposedly, he and his group were headed to Bermuda to avoid prosecution. And he would face 34-count indictment, primarily focusing on immigration violations, including the arrangement of the sham marriages mentioned earlier. And to avoid extended legal battles, Rajnees entered an Alford plea, acknowledging that sufficient evidence existed for a conviction without admitting guilt. So the plea deal resulted in a 10-year suspended sentence, five years of probation, a $400,000 fine covering penalties and prosecution costs,

and an agreement to leave the United States of America and not return for at least five years without explicit permission from the U.S. Attorney General. So following the plea agreement, Rajneesh would leave the United States. And he then faced entry refusal from 21 countries before eventually returning to India, where he resumed his spiritual teachings at the pre-year. Poon Ashram. And after the collapse of Rajneesh Param, many followers just dispersed globally. Some distanced themselves from the movement while others continued to practice and promote Rajneesh's teachings independently. And Rajneesh rebranded himself to Oshu upon his return to

India. He's pulling at Daniel Perez. And he would continue to attract followers until his death in January 19th of 1990. And the movement adapted accordingly. With the main ashram in Poon, transforming into the Osho International Meditation Resort, attracting visitors worldwide. And OSHA's teachings have influenced various New Age practices and continue to attract a global audience. And the movement emphasizes specifically meditation, mindfulness, and personal transformation. However, despite its ongoing appeal, the movement has faced allegations of abuses. Former members have come forward with accounts of misconduct within the communes during the 1970s and the 1980s. leading to renewed scrutiny and discussions about the movement's legacy altogether.

And this was all including the account of sexual abuse from a woman whose mother brought her into Rajneesh's community at the age of nine. And she describes life as a very young girl navigating a free love community and dealing with the advances of much older men. She would quote to say, At the time I suffered silently as he repeatedly drew me in with affection and took me to bed only to ignore me for days as I watched him pursue a job. adult women and in time my peers. At the same time, other men circled and eventually I gave in,

as sleeping around and being liberated was the norm that was modeled to me. As time passed, I felt increasingly worthless and angst-ridden and took my bad feelings to mean I was flawed. We were to be positive, not negative, so I didn't speak of my pain and confusion. When the commune collapsed in 1985, we were all flung back into the world unprepared. I was 16, disoriented, broke, and unsure of who I was. The trauma of my upbringing haunted me, but I couldn't yet name it. As the years passed, I came to see it for what it was and came to see how OSHA's teachings tilled the soil for abuse. Under the guise of spiritual freedom to boot, it sickened me. I distanced myself from the movement, from the teachings, and forgot a life of my own. So, like, everything.

that we talked about was just riddled with this. All the fraud and bioterrorism, it was all, you know, a means to have this, this group of people that Rajneesh could just control and do whatever he wanted with, which we see with all of these cult leaders that we're talking about and a lot of other ones that I've talked about. And it's just, it's horrible and so heartbreaking, especially with kids. I mean, they don't know better. They don't know how to protect themselves, how to go by, life if an adult is telling him to do something you're going to do it so it's just horrible horrible and

uh i'm glad he's dead but that is it for the three cults that we discussed today i know it was a lot but a lot of you guys asked for a cult videos so i gave it to you but if you have any other video ideas let me know down in the comments below and i hope you stay very very safe and i will see a beautiful face in the next video okay my dad taught me a lot including how easy it is to forget to cancel things. So I downloaded Experian, my BFF, big financial friend. Experian could help me cancel my unused subscriptions and lower my bills, saving me hundreds a year. Get started with the Experian app today. Your big financial friends here to help you save smarter. Results will vary. Not all bills or subscriptions eligible. Savings not guaranteed. $631 a year.

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